Home Office

Asylum: Balkans

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the joint report from the International Rescue Committee and 11 other organisations, Out of Sight, Exploited and Alone, concerning unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) in the Balkans, and its principal concerns of (1) insufficient and unreliable data or information management on UASC within the region, (2) a lack of options for safe accommodation and comprehensive services for UASC in line with each child’s best interests, (3) a lack of access to legal pathways, (4) a lack of cross-border case management to improve continuity of care and protection, and (5) exposure to exploitation, violence and trafficking, including as a result of smuggling and violent pushbacks.

baroness williams of trafford: The primary responsibility for unaccompanied children in Europe lies with the State in which they are present. We are committed to making sure that the Dublin III process works effectively to ensure that vulnerable asylum-seeking children receive the protection and support they need and are reunited as soon as possible with any close family members in the UK. We regularly engage with the Governments in the Western Balkans region on migration and provide additional support to EU Member States hosting large numbers of unaccompanied children to promote their welfare. The UK has established a £10 million Refugee Children’s Fund to support the needs of vulnerable children arriving in Europe and prioritises the needs of unaccompanied and separated children travelling through Greece and the Balkans. Support includes specialised shelters which offer 24 hour care, including psychosocial support, educational activities and legal assistance.Since October 2015, we have provided more than £17.2 million in humanitarian assistance for refugees and migrants in the Balkans. This has provided life-saving assistance (shelter, water and sanitation, hot and cold food, medical care and protection) for the most vulnerable migrants and refugees; as well as enhanced data for better migration management and support for durable solutions. The UK has allocated £8 million to a new Women and Girls Protection Fund which will protect girl and women refugees in Greece and the Balkans by providing shelters as a safe alternative to camp environments and strengthening national counter-trafficking mechanisms.

Immigration: North Korea

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, what steps they are taking to ensure that North Korean nationals who enter UK territories are not involved in any unlawful activities.

baroness williams of trafford: All citizens of North Korea require a visa to visit the UK. Applicants are assessed against the requirements of the Immigration Rules and will be refused where we are not satisfied that they meet these requirements. The biographic and biometric data supplied with visa applications is checked against Home Office databases to identify subjects of interest or persons who are not admissible to the UK. We carry out 100% checks on passengers arriving on scheduled services at the border in order to identify any criminal, security and immigration concerns. Where we believe someone poses a risk, Border Force officers can — and do — refuse them entry.

Digital Technology: Migrant Workers

lord cromwell: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the oral answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 27 March (HL Deb, col 355), and in the light of the call by the Coalition for a Digital Economy in its report Global Britain: From local startups to international markets, published in February, to allow the highly skilled into the country through a minimum six-month visa to enter the UK and seek work, whether they intend to take steps to provide visas more quickly for such workers who are invited to work in the UK; and if so, what are those steps, and what is the proposed timescale for the implementation of any necessary changes to the visa application process.

baroness williams of trafford: The current Points Based System already provides for ways in which highly skilled migrants from outside the European Economic Area can work in the UK. The Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) route allows leading digital technology talent endorsed by Tech City UK to enter the UK without needing a job offer from a sponsoring employer. The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK remains open for business and continues to grow and thrive – and ensuring our new relationship with the EU works for employees and employers will be important in the months ahead. For individual skilled migrant workers invited by an employer to work in the UK, their visas are routinely processed within three weeks, with premium services available for applicants who need faster decisions. Some jobs in digital technology, as identified by the independent Migration Advisory Committee, are recognised shortage occupations and are exempt from the Resident Labour Market Test.

Terrorism: British Nationals Abroad

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the withdrawal of the passport of Sufiyan Mustapha Hamza, whether they will withdraw passports from all other British jihadis currently in Iraq and Syria and fighting with ISIL or other terrorist forces.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government does not routinely comment on individual cases.However the Government has made its position on the withdrawal of passports on public interest grounds clear. In a Written Ministerial Statement on 25 April 2013 (Hansard Column 69WS) the Secretary of State for the Home Department set out the terms under which the Royal Prerogative will be exercised to refuse or withdraw passports under the public interest criteria. All such cases are assessed on their merits and consider the rights of the individual balanced against the public interest criteria.The Government may also deprive individuals of their British citizenship if it is conducive to the public good to do so. As a consequence of this their access to passport facilities is also withdrawn.

Asylum

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what practical assistance is provided by the Home Office to refused asylum seekers who are co-operating with re-documentation procedures, to obtain new travel documents.

baroness williams of trafford: Where a failed asylum seeker has agreed to return to their home country voluntarily, the Home Office Voluntary Returns Service (VRS) will assist them with obtaining travel documents required by the receiving country to facilitate entry. VRS will provide their travel costs to the embassy or High Commission and will also cover the cost of the travel document if required. Where a failed asylum seeker does not choose to return voluntarily, the Home Office will engage directly with the relevant embassy or High Commission to obtain the required travel document for return.

Department for Education

Education: Leadership

the earl of dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the possible benefits of encouraging good leadership and psychological wellbeing in education, adult and childcare services.

lord nash: School employers are responsible for the health and wellbeing of their workforce, and it is vital that they have systems in place that promote wellbeing, identify and tackle the cause of any stress in their staff, and provide appropriate support. We know that good leadership, together with high quality teaching, is essential to improving pupil outcomes. We have several initiatives and programmes in place to improve the supply of high quality leaders at all levels and phases, from middle and senior leaders to head teachers and system leaders. With regard to early years, the Early Years Workforce Strategy (published 3 March 2017) supports the development of a well qualified workforce. We know that graduate leaders with specialist early years training have a positive effect on children’s outcomes. Leadership at graduate level is associated with narrowing the quality gap between settings in deprived and more advantaged areas. The strategy is attached.We want to expand the graduate early years workforce and are undertaking a feasibility study into developing a programme that specifically seeks to grow the graduate workforce in disadvantaged areas. With regard to adult social care, the Care Act 2014 promotes people’s wellbeing and is intended to support people to live independently, including supporting them with employment, education and volunteering, that will help them to fulfil their potential. Wellbeing is a legal duty of councils when carrying out any of their care and support functions in respect of a person.  



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Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Drugs: Intellectual Property

lord clement-jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to incorporate EU regulations affecting pharmaceutical intellectual property into UK law; and if so, how.

lord prior of brampton: Pharmaceutical intellectual property is affected by various pieces of EU law. As the White Paper says, to ensure there is maximum clarity as to the law that applies in the UK when we leave the EU, the Great Repeal Bill will convert EU law into UK law. It will also ensure the Government is equipped to make all the necessary corrections to the statute book to ensure a smooth and orderly withdrawal.

Insolvency Service

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the criteria and principles for deciding whether to publish a report by the Insolvency Service; and who makes that decision.

lord prior of brampton: The Insolvency Service undertakes investigations under a variety of legislative provisions. In some of these investigations there are legal restrictions on disclosure of the information obtained. Where an application, whether to wind up a company or disqualify a director, is made to the court then the disclosure of any report filed in support of the application is a matter for the court. In all cases, if any directors are disqualified the Insolvency Service publishes the details of the disqualification on its website (for three months).

Nuclear Power Stations: Cumbria

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether ministers have had discussions with NuGen concerning the impact of the placing into administration of Westinghouse on the development of the Moorside nuclear power station; and whether they plan to offer state funding to ensure that that station is completed on time.

lord prior of brampton: Ministers and officials are in regular contact with NuGen and other developers of proposed new nuclear projects about a range of issues, including financing.

Insolvency

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 20 March (HL5833), what criteria they will employ to assess the impact of the voluntary package of pre-pack administration reforms for the body that will make the assessment as to whether further regulation of pre-pack administration is needed.

lord prior of brampton: The 2015 voluntary reforms were based on recommendations made by the independent Graham Review into Pre-pack Administration in 2014. The assessment of those reforms will focus on the suboptimal behaviour in some pre-packs described in the Graham Review’s report - that they lacked transparency and that their marketing and valuation methods could be improved – and whether the voluntary reforms have had an impact on their effect.

Flexible Working: Males

baroness manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to tackle workplace discrimination; in particular, what assessment they have made of the case for more flexible working for men; and what steps they are taking to address issues which prevent men from undertaking a greater share of care work in the home.

lord prior of brampton: The Government believes that increased opportunities for flexible working, including for men, will help to achieve full employment, increasing labour market participation among under-represented groups, and to close the gender pay gap. Flexible working can help families to achieve the right balance between the demands of work and home life and to decide how they will share responsibilities at home and at work.Government has taken a number of steps to promote greater opportunities for flexible working. The Right to Request Flexible Working entitles employees with 26 weeks’ service to request a working pattern which suits them and their employer. Shared Parental Leave enables working parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave including up to 37 weeks of paid leave in the first year of their child’s life. We are committed to reviewing the impact of these policies in 2019 and 2018 respectively, once they have had a chance to bed in. In the meantime, as set out in the Government’s response to the Women and Equalities Select Committee’s report on the Gender Pay Gap, we will explore options for increasing communications activity around flexible working.

Conditions of Employment

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of Santander’s reported use of employment contracts guaranteeing one hour of work per month, what is their estimate of the number of people who are currently employed on such contracts in the UK.

lord prior of brampton: The Government does not collect information on specific short hour contracts. The Government believes everyone deserves to be treated fairly at work regardless of the type of contract they are on and what their working pattern is, and is absolutely clear that employers must take their employment law responsibilities seriously. This is why we have asked Matthew Taylor to look at employment practices in the modern economy which is considering the impact of non-standard working arrangements on employment status and employment rights.

Energy: Prices

viscount ridley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to publish energy and climate policy price impact tables for the years 2015 and 2016, which were last released in the Annual Energy Statement 2014, covering various types of consumer, and in the low, central and high fossil fuel price scenarios.

lord prior of brampton: In November 2016 the Government published the Consumer-Funded Policies Report, setting out expenditure and outcomes of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s consumer funded energy policies.The Government recognises the importance of domestic consumers having regular, reliable data on the costs and impacts of Government energy policies and on energy prices and bills and we will be publishing our latest estimates in the near future.

Sea Level

viscount ridley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether increases in the global mean sea level are inconsistent with reasonably expected natural variability; and whether there is any evidence for such inconsistency that is not based on computer simulations of the climate.

lord prior of brampton: Evidence that increases in the global mean sea level are inconsistent with natural variability can be found in the 5th Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5). This states that it is very likely (> 90% probability) that human activities contributed substantially to global average sea level rise since the 1970s.Instrumental and proxy data reveal that global average sea level began to rise above the long-term natural background rate in the early twentieth century. Our physical understanding of these observations and their attribution to human activity does not require computer simulations: the oceans have absorbed over 90% of the excess energy that has accumulated in the climate system from human greenhouse gas emissions, and the resulting thermal expansion of seawater accounts for 40% of observed sea level rise. Computer simulations of the climate provide further evidence that human influences, and not natural variability alone, explain these changes.

Ministry of Defence

Aircraft Carriers: Procurement

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of the projected £6.2 billion cost of the UK's two new aircraft carriers has already been spent.

earl howe: The Ministry of Defence had spent £5,650 million to the end of February 2017 on the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier programme.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to encourage UK shipbuilders to bid for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Solid Support Ships.

earl howe: UK and international shipbuilders were invited through the official channels of the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) Defence Contracts Bulletin and the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU), to attend a MOD Project Team Industry Day held in July 2016, which advertised the Assessment Phase contract opportunities available to industry. We hope that UK industry will produce a robust and competitive bid for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary's Fleet Solid Support ships.As a non-complex warship, any related future events and contracting opportunities will be advertised through these same channels, to ensure we meet the requirements of EU commercial regulations and UK procurement law, to ensure all potential bidders are treated equally.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in relation to the procurement of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Solid Support Ships, what consideration they have given to the challenges of overseas shipbuilding noted by Sir John Parker in his Independent Report to inform the National Shipbuilding Strategy about potential denial of opportunities for the UK supply chain.

earl howe: The procurement strategy under development for the Fleet Solid Support ships will draw lessons from the approach taken by the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) tanker programme. Highly classified and skilled elements will remain in the UK, while commercial economies of scale will be exploited by competing for the main build contract internationally. At every stage of the process UK companies will have the opportunity to compete for contracts and we encourage them to do so.There are clear cost advantages from maximising competition, which remains the cornerstone of defence procurement. This is consistent with the requirement to obtain value for money for the UK taxpayer in major contracts, and enables the Ministry of Defence to take advantage of the strong competitive international shipbuilding market.While the MARS tanker build was undertaken overseas, the UK supply chain was still able to benefit from around £120 million worth of orders from this contract. The customisation and support of the MARS tankers is bringing further economic benefits to the UK, in the order of £30 million.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in relation to the procurement of the new Royal Fleet Auxiliary Solid Support Ships, what consideration they have given to the recommendation by Sir John Parker in his Independent Report to inform the National Shipbuilding Strategy that the UK should block-build military ships; and whether they plan to implement this recommendation.

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans are in place to secure the future of Rosyth Dockyard, in the light of the recommendation by Sir John Parker in his Independent Report to inform the National Shipbuilding Strategy that the block-build model used by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance should be used more extensively in the construction of UK military shipping.

earl howe: We are considering Sir John's recommendations on block-building, which he described as the virtual shipbuilding model, along with the other recommendations in his report. The Ministry of Defence has not prescribed a build strategy for the Fleet Solid Support ships and it will be for potential bidders to consider how the construction of the ships might be optimised. The National Shipbuilding Strategy is intended to lay the foundation for a modern and efficient sector capable of meeting the country's future defence and security needs. This will be published in the spring.

Maritime Patrol Aircraft

lord campbell of pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what anti-submarine capability they will deploy when the P-8A maritime patrol aircraft are brought into service.

earl howe: The P-8A will be equipped with state of the art anti-submarine tracking and targeting equipment, together with air-launched anti-submarine torpedoes.

Baltic States: NATO

lord campbell of pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they have taken against attempts to undermine by disinformation the effectiveness of the British troops deployed to the Baltic States as part of the NATO alliance Enhanced Forward Presence initiative.

earl howe: The UK and NATO constantly monitor the threats to the Euro-Atlantic security environment. The Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) we have deployed to the Baltic States and Poland is defensive in nature, but combat capable, and we will configure our forces appropriately in response to the challenges NATO faces in the region. The effectiveness of UK involvement in this operation is founded upon our longstanding engagement and interoperability with NATO, our host nations of Estonia and Poland, our EFP partners, the US, Denmark, and France. Any attempts to undermine this deployment through disinformation will be countered in an open, honest, and transparent fashion.

Syria: Chemical Weapons

lord hunt of chesterton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are taking steps, in collaboration with UK allies, to use the latest technologies to provide early warnings to communities in Syria of chemical attacks; and whether those early warnings systems could be used by allied forces for aerial release of equipment such as medicines and face masks where appropriate.

earl howe: The UK Government fully supports the US military action on 7 April 2017 against the Syrian air force base at Shayrut, from which it is assessed that the Syrian regime launched a chemical weapons attack against its own population. The US action reinforces the internationally-held red line that the use of chemical weapons is barbaric and illegal. It is not practicable to provide protection in advance against specific chemical weapons attacks, which take place indiscriminately and without warning. The UK has provided support to the White Helmets, which helps to ensure that they are among the first to respond to any attack and are able to save lives. In the face of continued intransigence by the Syrian regime and its backers, the UK will continue to work through options with our international partners to overcome the challenges before us.

EU Defence Policy

lord pearson of rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made on (1) the establishment of the EU Defence Union, (2) the development of European multilateral defence procurement, and (3) the establishment of the EU military planning and conduct capability.

earl howe: An EU Defence Union concept has been discussed in the European Parliament but is non-binding and has not been raised in the EU Council. At the March European Council, member states agreed to some limited proposals to improve the effectiveness of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy, including a Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) to improve oversight and coordination of the three EU non-executive military missions. We have limited the size and scope of the MPCC, ensuring that it is responsible for these non-executive missions only and that its Director will only exercise Operational Control - there is no increase in command authority over and above what already exists.There are no finalised proposals for multilateral defence procurement, but the European Defence Agency is engaged in projects across the defence spectrum to help deliver the results and capabilities of member states through increased coordination. 'Permanent Structured Cooperation' has been proposed by some as a way of giving further impetus to European capability development but we continue to make clear that the starting point should be for member states to spend more nationally; that military capabilities remain owned by member states; and that any proposals should be considered in light of work underway at NATO.

European Network of Defence-related Regions

lord pearson of rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the purpose of the European Network of Defence-related Regions; and what part the UK plays in it.

earl howe: The European Network of Defence-related Regions (ENDR) brings together regional authorities and industrial clusters with the intention of sharing information, experiences and best practices in both building dual-use strategies and accessing EU funding. The ENDR is particularly aimed at supporting small and medium sized enterprises that are working in the dual use area.The UK Government has no official role within the ENDR but will when appropriate highlight funding opportunities to UK industry and organisations. Marine South East, the Solent-region based cluster, was recently successful in bidding and received funding from the ENDR for hosting the ENDR's second conference on 4 April in Southampton, which focused on marine and maritime-based technologies.

European Security and Defence College

lord pearson of rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what benefits the UK derives from membership of the European Defence and Security College.

earl howe: The European Security and Defence College (ESDC) is a virtual network of national training institutions that helps promote a common understanding of the EU Common Security and Defence Policy. Many UK civilian and military personnel have attended ESDC courses to better equip them with the knowledge and skills needed to carry out their work. This expertise and engagement in turn helps to ensure that the UK maintains influence in EU security and defence policy.

Marines

lord burnett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the estimated savings in (1) manpower, and (2) cash, of the cuts proposed for the Royal Marines.

earl howe: The changes planned to the size and structure of the Royal Marines will allow approximately 200 positions to be re-allocated within the Naval Service. These changes are expected to be broadly cost neutral within the overall headcount of the Naval Service.

Hercules Aircraft

lord robathan: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 3 April (HL6359), what was the average cost per flying hour for the C130 fleet for each year since 2005–06; and what was the total cost of running the C130 fleet for each of those years.

earl howe: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Digital Technology: Skilled Workers

lord cromwell: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the oral answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 27 March (HL Deb, col 355), and in the light of the finding by the Coalition for a Digital Economy in its report Global Britain: From local startups to international markets, published in February, that one third of technology start-ups’ first ten hires came from outside the UK, what is their estimate of the shortage of specialist technical staff needed by the digital technology sector in the UK; and what estimate they have made of future staffing needs in that sector.

lord ashton of hyde: DCMS is leading a review focused on identifying the current and future advanced and specialist digital skills gaps in the UK’s digital technology sector and wider economy. This work will give DCMS a greater understanding of the characteristics of the existing advanced and digital specialist workforce in the UK, current and future advanced and specialist digital skills needs in the UK, and will inform how to focus efforts on developing the UK digital skills pipeline. We anticipate the review will be completed by summer 2017.

Digital Technology: Migrant Workers

lord cromwell: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the oral answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 27 March (HL Deb, col 355), whether they intend to address the need for people from overseas with the requisite digital technology skills to be able to come to work in the UK during the Brexit negotiation process; if not, what assessment they have made of the impact of failing to address that need in the short-term on the UK economy; and if so, what steps they are taking to support access to the skills required in that sector.

lord ashton of hyde: We seek to guarantee the rights of EU citizens who are already living in Britain, and the rights of British nationals in other member states as early as we can. This remains an early priority for the forthcoming negotiations. We will control immigration so that we continue to attract the brightest and the best to work or study in Britain, but manage the process properly so that our immigration system serves the national interest. As part of that it is important that we understand the impacts of different options on different sectors of the economy and the labour market. We are taking action across the entire education and training pipeline to ensure we have the digital skills to maintain our world leading digital economy.

Gambling: Children

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Written Answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 2 March (HL5634), what measures they use in assessing whether the Gambling Commission is effective in preventing underage gambling.

lord ashton of hyde: The Gambling Commission has a statutory duty to advise government on the regulation of gambling. The Department meets regularly with the Gambling Commission both at ministerial and official level to discuss a wide range of issues relating to the regulation of gambling in Great Britain. The Department and the Gambling Commission have a management agreement in place which sets out ways of working. The Gambling Commission Management Agreement sets out its performance measures which include “reducing levels of children and young people gaining access to age-restricted gambling products".

Music

the earl of sandwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the report by Arts Council England, The arts and culture sector and exit from the European Union, what assessment they have made of the impact of leaving the EU on music.

lord ashton of hyde: The Government is working closely with the Arts and Culture sector and the music industry to understand the possible impacts and opportunities of the UK's decision to leave the European Union (EU). The Government is focussed on securing the right deal for Britain and the music industry as a whole.